Source: NIE
Context: The Union Cabinet has approved India’s bid to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games, naming Ahmedabad as the proposed host city with world-class stadiums and infrastructure. India is also positioning Ahmedabad as a frontrunner for the 2036 Olympics.
About Commonwealth Games:
What it is?
- An international multi-sport event held every four years, featuring athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations (72 nations and territories).
- Often seen as a platform to promote friendship, cultural ties, and sporting excellence among member countries.
Origin:
- First held in 1930 at Hamilton, Canada, known then as the British Empire Games.
- Renamed British Empire and Commonwealth Games (1954), British Commonwealth Games (1970), and finally Commonwealth Games (from 1978).
- Includes a wide range of Olympic-style sports, along with traditional Commonwealth sports like lawn bowls, squash, netball.
- Unique feature → inclusion of para-sports events integrated into the main program.
India & the Commonwealth Games:
- First participated in 1934 London Games; wrestler Rashid Anwar won India’s first medal (bronze in wrestling).
- Milestones: Milkha Singh (first Indian gold, Cardiff 1958), rise of wrestling, shooting, weightlifting and badminton in later decades.
- Best performance: 2010 Delhi Games → India won 101 medals (39 golds), finishing 2nd overall.
- Till date, India has won 564 medals (203 golds) at the Commonwealth Games.
- Hosted once in 2010, New Delhi — remembered for India’s historic medal tally and large-scale organisation.
- Now bidding for 2030 Games with Ahmedabad as the proposed venue (Narendra Modi Stadium, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave).
- Plan includes inclusion of all major sports, along with traditional Indian games like kabaddi and kho-kho.
